[Part 4] What’s Your Feedback Goal? Improving Performance

The growth of an employee, from day one to the day they move their picture frames to the corner office, is dependent on a culture of good management. And good management is not always fun. Pointing out and shelling out negative commentary to your employees is not easy on them or you…but we all know it’s a necessary way to build and mold employees into engaged, high performing employees.

Tough Love

Employee: These ones are the toughest to take. An iRevü with an improved performance tag is pointing out an area in which I am not excelling. Maybe I have been letting that area slide a bit without even noticing. Although not the most fun to read, the iRevü gives me a reset on where my performance is in a key area.

Bonus: When my manager gives me some quick tips on how to improve. It keeps me motivated!

Manager: Improved performance is really hard to send. In fact, sometimes I try to find another tab to select because this is by far the most critical iRevü. But as a manager, I know it’s not fair to my employees to let them continue to be subpar. One of the benefits of being able to deliver this feedback on a weekly basis is that I can tie this to one action, activity or project, without making the employee feel their entire work product isn’t working.

Just in Time Feedback

Employee: I would rather know right away about subpar performance. Sometimes I think I am doing a good job, but in reality there are some things I am not accounting for. The iRevü tells me now so I can adjust my behavior and performance before I repeat the same mistakes. Better now than later!

Manager:45% of HR leaders do not think annual performance reviews are an accurate appraisal for employee’s work. And it’s probably because they aren’t. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather tell you tomorrow that today’s behavior was not okay or that your project is falling behind schedule. I’m not going to remember anything but the truly stellar or truly heinous at year end. Of course, the annual is going extinct. Business moves way too fast for managers to sit on a list of grievances.

Specificity

Employee: It has always bugged me when a parent, coach or a manager gives a general reprimand to the entire group when only one or two people have done wrong. An improved performance iRevü keeps the playing field fair. I know my manager is giving an iRevü to the person it is about right then and there. Even if it’s me, I appreciate the specificity so the group doesn’t have to second guess any of their performance.

Manager: A new Gallup study finds that 50% of the 7,200 adults surveyed left a job “to get away from their manager.” This could be because, as mentioned above, it’s really hard to confront when someone’s performance is a big stinky cheese. It’s easier to address the group than have that squirmy, awkward conversation with one person, who will probably hate you when you leave the room (bosses have feelings too you know!) A private, specific message about specific behavior makes the conversation easier, and saves you both the public embarrassment of when everyone KNOWS it was Bob that keeps messing up the numbers but no one wants to call him out.

Up and Up

Keep your employees in the loop so they can improve. Even if the feedback is negative, which they may tend to be more with this tag of iRevü, knowing where one stands is useful information in a work environment, and it not always apparent to everyone in the room. Give your critiques followed up with constructive advice on how to move forward. Performance reviews are necessary to build up your team and your business. Your employees understand that and want to give you their all. Keep the channels open and move forward.

“Management by objectives works if you first think through your objectives. Ninety percent of the time you haven’t.” -Peter Drucker @drunkerinst

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CEO and Founder Michael Heller has 20+ years of experience in strategic human resources, talent management and technology consulting. Michael resides in Gaithersburg, Maryland with his wife and daughter and enjoys cooking and college basketball.